Mediating variables are common in clinical research because they help explain how a mediator transmits the effects of an independent variable to an outcome variable. In clinical treatment research, theoretical mediating variables are targeted for change because they are causally related to the outcome variable. If the mediators are causally related to the outcome variable, then a treatment that changes the mediator will change the outcome. First, the single mediator model is described in detail both statistically and conceptually. Second, more complicated models and recent advances in mediation methods are outlined. The importance of a sustained research program that includes information from many sources is emphasized.
This chapter describes mediation analysis in prevention and intervention studies. First, the links between theory and the mediators targeted in prevention and intervention programs are emphasized, and reasons for conducting mediation analysis are listed. Second, the statistical procedures in mediation analysis are given and applied to a drug prevention example. Finally, guidelines for mediational analyses in prevention and intervention grant applications are described .
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